Missouri Lawmakers Confused, Frustrated by Dept. of Revenue Story

Kaye Beach

March 16, 2013

I am trying to keep up with this story out of Missouri regarding the state’s  implementation of portions of the federal Real ID Act and the impact on Second Amendment rights.

According to Lt. Governor Peter Kinder, Eric Griffin went to his Department of Motor Vehicles fee office after he passed the application process for a concealed carry gun permit. Griffin refused to let DMV employees scan some of his documentation and he was subsequently denied a permit.

Source: Real ID Act raises privacy concerns for Mo. handgun carry permit holders, March 6, 2013, Examiner.com

Now Missouri has a REAL problem on it’s hands.  Many people, unaware of the many negative implications of the Real ID Act, might not gripe when they they run into new procedures at the DMV as a result of it but get between the Missourian and his gun rights-and watch out!

Long and Deputy Director John Mollenkamp [Mo. Dept. of Revenue] told the committee they now require documents from state residents, including conceal-carry endorsements, to be scanned into a computer system as part of an effort to cut down on fraud.  http://www.kcur.org/post/mo-dept-revenue-were-not-sending-copies-citizens-documents-dc-0

The Dept. of Revenue will not admit that they are implementing the technical tenants of the Real ID Act, they may not even know that they are.  Here is why.  The Dept. of Homeland Security and AAMVA, (the American Association of Motor Vehicles) which has set motor vehicle associated and licensing standards for the states for decades, agreed to roll the Real ID Act requirement into AAMVA’s North American Standards for Driver’s Licenses and ID cards (2012)

“In addition, DHS has worked with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) to coordinate state implementation of the standards of the REAL ID regulation. In particular, DHS participated with the states in the drafting of the Personal Identification – AAMVA North American Standard – DL/ID Card Design (July 2009) . . .the design must meet or exceed REAL ID requirements.”

Department of Homeland Security,Secure Identification State Progress Fiscal Year 2012 Report to Congress

“AAMVA (the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators) is called the “backbone” and hub” of the Real ID Act in the final rules issued by DHS” Mark Lerner, testimony before the Michigan House of Representatives, 2008

The state bureaucrats will tell you that they aren’t implementing Real ID, they are just following ‘best practices’ as they have always done.

Anxious and frustrated Missourians might find it interesting to compare notes and see how Oklahoma is continuing to implement the provisions of the Real ID Act despite it being prohibited by law.

Now Missouri lawmakers want to know where is the personal information (including biometric data) of citizens going and why? But instead of a straight answer, lawmakers are running into a whole lot of obfuscation and misdirects from the Dept. of Revenue and this is making them hopping mad.

CBS St. Louis reports:

March 13, 2013

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMOX/MDN) – Earlier this week, KMOX told you about allegations that the state was creating a database of gun owners.

Now, Missouri lawmakers say the Department of Revenue lied about that and is breaking the law, because they’re collecting certain personal information from everyone.

Missouri senators spoke out in the chamber Wednesday.

Senate Appropriations chairman Kurt Schaefer said the department has lied to him three times now.

“This marks the third time I’ve been lied to in two weeks,” announced Schaefer.

The department first told Schaefer it received a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that was not related to the gathering of information at license offices.

Later, the department told him the grant was used for hole punchers to void old licenses. The hole punchers were bought at 138 bucks a pop.

In a later hearing, the department then said the grant was used for gathering information at license offices, leaving Schaefer furious.

Read More

If the people of Missouri do not insist on getting to the bottom of all of this they run the risk of either political muscle silencing the lawmakers that are currently demanding answers or that they will eventually becoming so baffled by BS, that they give up.  Stay with it ‘Show Me’ state!

How close is Oklahoma to Real ID? Much, Much Closer Than It Ought To Be

Kaye Beach

September 14, 2012

Have you noticed the flurry of activity related to Oklahoma’s driver’s licenses?  Did your Real ID radar begin to ping?

A Google photo search for “new driver’s license design” shows that many states, like Oklahoma, are getting new driver’s license designs.  And like Oklahoma, the photos are all moved to the left.  This isn’t a DMV fad.   These standards come from somewhere.  —  2012 AAMVA North American Standard – DL/ID Card Design

“AAMVA (the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators) is called the “backbone” and hub” of the Real ID Act in the final rules issued by DHS” Mark Lerner, testimony before the Michigan House of Representatives, 2008

Several news items were released last week about some changes coming to Oklahoma’s driver’s licenses.

Oklahoma Rolls Out New Driver License and Upgraded Issuance System by MorphoTrust Sep 06, 2012 by Business Wire

“The new license meets rigorous security requirements and will not only upgrade our system but enhance customer service as well,” said Michael C. Thompson, Commissioner for the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety.

Oklahoma driver’s license will get makeover

Repositioned photograph is among changes to be rolled out over next several months for Oklahoma driver’s license

“They totally redesigned the system to where it’s going to be faster for the operator, which will speed up the line of people waiting at the tag agencies and exam offices.”

These news items were primed by many articles released over the last couple of months regarding the horrendous waits driver’s license applicants are forced to undergo in our state since ‘The number of examiners at licensing offices statewide decreased from 152 in 2009 to 105 this year. The number of testing sites has been reduced from 89 to 36 in a decade’

Long lines drive push to help Oklahoma driver’s license exam sites

At this point, Oklahomans are frustrated and the news of any changes that could help speed up the process are sure to be greeted with a huge sigh of relief and little scrutiny.

A little scrutiny is in order.

The deadline for meeting the standards of the REAL ID Act is January 15, 2013.

The Real ID Act passed in 2005 imposed federal guidelines that use  INTERNATIONAL standards for state driver’s licenses and ID documents

REAL ID licenses are to be

•machine readable

•contain biometric data

(including facial biometrics)

This and other information is to be shared

•nationally

•internationally

There are 18 initial benchmarks (39 benchmarks total) to the Real ID Act of 2005 that, once they are achieved, a state can consider to be in “material compliance” with the Act.  A state is in “full compliance” with the Real ID Act upon meeting all 39 of the benchmarks.

Once material compliance is achieved a state may request to be able to place a gold star on their state license to indicate that the card is acceptable for “federal identification purposes” from the DHS.

Spring of this year seven states were named as being the naughty foot draggers regarding meeting the 18 Real ID benchmarks. Oklahoma is listed as one of those laggard seven states and for good reason-our state passed a law prohibiting implementation of the federal Real ID Act in 2008. 

Oklahoma – OKLA. STAT. ANN, tit. 47, § 6-110.3 (2007) (The State of Oklahoma shall not participate in the implementation of the REAL ID Act of 2005. The Department of Public Safety is hereby directed not to implement the provisions of the REAL ID Act of 2005 and to report to the Governor and the Legislature any attempt by agencies or agents of the United States Department of Homeland Security to secure the implementation of the REAL ID Act of 2005 through the operations of that or any other state department. . .

The President of the Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License took it upon himself to help the Department of Homeland Security pressure and threaten these last remaining rebel states:

“It’s their last opportunity to get on board with the REAL ID rules or face consequences. . . . REAL ID is no longer a policy matter, the REAL ID debate is over.  REAL ID is now part of DHS’ ongoing operations.”
PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1bIrU)

What are the “consequences” of not having a Real ID?  Here is what we are told;

“In the future, only those state issued Driver Licenses and Identification cards which are fully compliant with the REAL ID act of 2005 will be authorized for use as identification for official federal government purposes, such as boarding commercial aircraft and entering certain regulated federal facilities.” Alabama DMV-STAR ID

Does this mean we won’t be able to fly?  In a word-no.  We will still be able to fly.   A passport will work as well as a military ID.  Of course any government issued photo ID means biometrics and carries with it the some of the same concerns as Real ID.  Any lesser ID may require secondary screening procedures, but you can fly without a Real ID.  As far as the federal buildings.  That will be interesting.  Barring US citizens from certain federal building will probably set off a constitutional showdown.

Oklahoma was not alone in their opposition to the Real ID Act.  At least 25 states passed a law or resolution prohibiting the implementation of Real ID in their states.  This was a historic level of rebellion and one that both red and blue states participated.

At least 13 (the National Conference of State Legislatures recognizes 16) states passed an actual law against Real ID but we know from Congressional documents that some of these states are quietly issuing Real ID compliant driver’s licenses anyways.

Thirteen states have laws prohibiting compliance with the REAL ID Act. Even so, DHS believes that some of these states already issue secure identification documents consistent with the standards of the regulation.  Link

These states may not sign up for the gold star just yet, but with a wink and a nod, they are just as surely undermining the will of the people by meeting the first 18 benchmarks of Real ID.  To state it simply, these states are positioned to do the bidding of the Department of Homeland Security by meeting the requirements of the Real ID Act while retaining plausible deniability about violating their states’ law that prohibits implementation of the Real ID Act.

At least nineteen states are now in compliance with the Act.   Twenty-six more are reported to have committed to meet the standards before the (new) deadline. (Dec. 1, 2014) link

So where does Oklahoma stand on the 18 (Real ID) benchmarks?

I will show you that Oklahoma is merely one benchmark away from compliance with this international ID scheme that caused an unprecedented uproar by the states following its introduction in 2005.

Oklahoma has progressed from meeting 9 of these benchmarks in 2008 to currently meeting 14 of the 18 Real ID benchmarks. (3 of the benchmarks pertain to formalizing commitment by the state to REAL ID.  State’s that have passed a law prohibiting Real ID implementation are forgiven these benchmarks by the Dept. of Homeland Security.  That is the “wink and a nod” Do in reality, Oklahoma is really only one benchmark away from being considered Real ID compliant.)

Real ID benchmarks 1-6

Real ID Benchmarks 7-15

Real ID Benchmarks 16-18

 

Doesn’t appear that the law prohibiting implementation of the provisions of Real ID slowed us down much, does it?

Some of these 18 benchmarks are sensible measures that many states were already working on prior to Real ID anyways.

However, benchmark Number 1 is a REAL problem!

Benchmark #1. “Mandatory facial image capture and retention of such image.”

Let me explain briefly why:  the digital facial photo is a biometric suitable for use with facial recognition software.  In fact, facial biometrics is the governments biometric of choice.  Why?  It is not the most accurate biometric for identification purposes but it does allow us to be identified in public without our knowledge or consent.  Never mind that we have the right to go about our business, as long as we are not a criminal or suspect, without be investigated.  The Supreme Court has upheld our right to anonymity on several occasions in recent history.

Here is just one example;

Anonymity is a shield from the tyranny of the majority … It thus exemplifies the purpose behind the Bill of Rights, and of the First Amendment in particular: to protect unpopular individuals from retaliation–and their ideas from suppression–at the hand of an intolerant society.”

McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Comm’n, 514 U.S. 334

The inaccuracy of facial recognition could cause anyone to be misidentified which would introduce the unfortunate person host of unpleasant possibilities.  But, I suppose, it is ‘good enough for government work,’ as they say.  But it gets even worse.

After the initial 18 benchmarks are met, the states will proceed to implement the next 21 benchmarks, step by step enrolling us into a global biometric identity system.

“The main ideology for defining the design of the DL/ID is the minimum acceptable set of requirements to guarantee global interoperability. “

Source: Personal Identification – AAMVA North American Standard – DL/ID Card Design, 2012

Myself as well as many other policy watchers that care to know, have been warning for years that our government intends to use those DL photos, conveniently combined with our personal, biographical information to not just identify us in public absent of any specific, articulable suspicion; they intend to use our facial biometrics to investigate and even predict based on the associated data- whether we are more or less likely to present a threat to government.  As of late, these intentions have been loosed from obscure, seldom read government documents and have been printed in black and white for the world to see.

In addition to scanning mugshots for a match, FBI officials have indicated that they are keen to track a suspect by picking out their face in a crowd.

Another application would be the reverse: images of a person of interest from security cameras or public photos uploaded onto the internet could be compared against a national repository of images held by the FBI. An algorithm would perform an automatic search and return a list of potential hits for an officer to sort through and use as possible leads for an investigation.

New Scientist, September 7, 2012 FBI launches $1 billion face recognition project

And then this-a first-law enforcement admits to using facial recognition on protestors in public.

Computer World: Undercover cops secretly use smartphones, face recognition to spy on crowds

And this one from June 16, 2013,  the Washington Post:

State photo-ID databases become troves for police

Oklahoma residents who prefer to not be enrolled into this biometric identification system ought to be asking their representatives why the state is continuing in the fulfillment of the Real ID Act in spite of the law which clearly expresses the will of the people to not participate in the international biometric identity scheme.

 

FBI to launch nationwide facial recognition service

Kaye Beach

Oct 9, 2011

This is just the tip of the iceberg….

From NextGov.com

By Aliya Sternstein 10/07/2011

The FBI by mid-January will activate a nationwide facial recognition service in select states that will allow local police to identify unknown subjects in photos, bureau officials told Nextgov.

The federal government is embarking on a multiyear, $1 billion dollar overhaul of the FBI’s existing fingerprint database to more quickly and accurately identify suspects, partly through applying other biometric markers, such as iris scans and voice recordings.

Often law enforcement authorities will “have a photo of a person and for whatever reason they just don’t know who it is [but they know] this is clearly the missing link to our case,” said Nick Megna, a unit chief at the FBI’s criminal justice information services division. The new facial recognition service can help provide that missing link by retrieving a list of mug shots ranked in order of similarity to the features of the subject in the photo.

Read more

Looking Back-A Refresher

A compulsory global biometric identification system for law abiding people is not, will never be justifiable.

Our government seems to have backed off on their denials that Real ID and similar legislation is in fact, a national ID.  But what you should know is that any national ID system is also international.  It’s all about sharing these days and that means with our “international Partners’ too

The following is just a mere sampling of news articles, government documents and sources of information that clearly show the absolute intention to use our state driver’s licenses and the biometric data collected for them, as a an instrument of global identification,  tracking and control.

2003

Viisage receives $12 million award from Oklahoma

FEBRUARY 19, 2003–Viisage Technology Inc. (Littleton, MA; http://www.viisage.com) has been chosen to fulfill the new digital driver’s license contract by the state of Oklahoma’s Department of Public Safety. The contract will include the design, development, and implementation of the statewide secure license production program. The total value of this new multiyear contract is approximately $12 million. Oklahoma is the 19th state to utilize Viisage in the production of identity verification documents and the third state in recent months to give Viisage a major driver’s license contract. The three latest contracts total approximately $35 million. The solution will integrate multiple, advanced identification security features, including FaceEXPLORER facial-recognition software and SAGEM Morpho finger imaging technology

http://tinyurl.com/ViisageOKla

Oklahoma has collected Face, Fingerprint scans and signature biometrics since 2004

Biometric Drivers Licenses Make Debut in Oklahoma

April 20, 2004

SAGEM Morpho, Inc. a proven provider of mission-critical biometric systems and services, announced the successful deployment of biometric technology solutions for the Oklahoma Department Public Safety (DPS) in conjunction with Viisage, a provider of advanced technology identity solutions. SAGEM Morpho will combine its finger imaging recognition technology with Viisage’s facial recognition technology to create accurate biometric records of the state’s approximately four million licensed drivers.  http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2004/apr/1033349.htm

NLETS the International Justice and Public Safety Information Sharing Network, links together every state, local, and federal and International law enforcement (INTERPOL), justice and public safety agency for the purpose of exchanging critical information http://www.nlets.org

2004

The NLETS Candle Project In a related NIJ-funded project, NLETS is working with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) to standardize critical information from departments of motor vehicles (DMVs) around the country.

The project, entitled Collaboration between AAMVA and NLETS for Driver’s License Exchange (Candle), seeks to develop and deploy standards and solutions to exchange standardized driver and motor vehicle records over the NLETS network.

Candle builds upon the existing NLETS infrastructure, as well as the Web services advancements made in the Aisle project, and seeks to deploy an international capability for driver and motor vehicle exchanges based upon XML standards, greatly increasing the efficiency. . .

The Candle project provides a first step in transitioning AAMVA to a new generation of technology. This effort will result in consolidating interstate DMV transactions into a single standardized service for both the DMV and law enforcement communities.

From The Police Chief, vol. 71, no. 6, June 2004. 
Copyright held by the International Association of Chiefs of Police,
 515 North Washington Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 USA.

‘AAMVA was directly involved in the crafting of the Real ID Act 2005. In the DHS-published final rules document for the Real ID Act, the AAMVA was referred to as its “hub” and “backbone.”’ UPDATE: Real ID

2006

Source-THE NEW PARADIGM—MERGING LAW ENFORCEMENT AND COUNTERTERRORISM STRATEGIES Secure Cities 2006 http://www.scribd.com/doc/21970726/IACP-Intelligence-Led-Policing-2006-New-Paradigm

2007

SB 474-Oklahoma prohibited participation in the REAL ID in 2007. (So far, 25 states either by law or resolution have done the same) Although Oklahoma lags behind other states in full implementation of Real ID, there is no reason to believe Oklahoma will not eventually come into full compliance with the act.

2007

FBI Seeks to Build Massive Identification System

 The Federal Bureau of Investigation awarded a $1B, 10-year contract to design, develop, document, integrate, test, and deploy the Next Generation Identification (NGI) System to Lockheed Martin. This new database will expand on the current fingerprint-based system; the FBI will increase its collection and storage not only fingerprints but also iris scans, palm prints and facial images.

The FBI is also in talks with the U.K. police to establish a unified database for the tracking of this biometric information.

The UK has said that the new NGI System could easily be integrated with the U.K.’s current Ident1 database

http://epic.org/privacy/biometrics/

2007 News article;

–The Homeland Security Department’s plans for sharing biometric information internationally — designed to counter the threat of terrorism — face resistance from domestic privacy advocates and European governments that follow stricter privacy laws that protect personal data.

Senior DHS officials speaking at a recent conference on biometrics and privacy policy outlined the ethical imperative for technical standards that would foster unrestricted biometric data sharing.

Robert Mocny, acting program manager for the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program, sketched the outline of a Global Security Envelope of internationally shared biometric data that would permanently link individuals with their personal data held by governments and corporations.

“information sharing is appropriate around the world,” and DHS plans to create a “Global Security Envelope of internationally shared biometric data that would permanently link individuals with biometric ID, personal information held by governments and corporations”—

—-Robert Mocny

Read more… http://www.gcn.com/print/26_03/43061-1.html

2007 The National Information Sharing Initiative ;

The Bush Administration’s 2007 National Information Sharing Strategy established state and local fusion centers as the federal government’s primary mechanism for collecting and disseminating domestic intelligence. 

The federal government has fueled the growth of these state and local intelligence centers, and has organized them into a national network that feeds information gathered at the local level into the Director of National Intelligence’s Information Sharing Environment (ISE), where it becomes accessible to all participating law enforcement agencies as well as the larger intelligence community. Link

The Biometric Interoperability Program promotes biometric-based information sharing between the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) and other federal and international biometric systems.

http://www.biometriccoe.gov/_doc/FBI_CJIS_0808_One%20Pager_8%205x11_BIOMETRICS_v3.pdf

2008 -Fusion Centers Tap Into Personal Databases

Many fusion centers have not shared with the public what databases they use. This was demonstrated in an April 2, 2008 article in The Washington Post titled “Centers Tap into Personal Databases.” It revealed that several fusion centers in the northeast have access to millions of people’s information including unlisted cell phone numbers, insurance claims, driver’s license photographs

–Rebecca Andino, PMP, CIPP/G, president and founder of Highlight Technologies

______________________________

Ann Cavoukian, Ph.D. (Information and Privacy Commissioner for Ontario) and Alex Stoianov, Ph.D. point out that in the not too distant future a person’s unique biometric template could be used as an identifying key to link together all the different databases that contain entries for that person. It would enable someone to build up a complete picture of that individual without their knowledge or consent.

“When the use of biometrics grows, an ordinary person will be enrolled in various biometrically controlled databases, such as travel documents, driver licenses, health care, access control, banking, shopping, etc. Current biometric systems can use the same biometric template for all of them. The template becomes the ultimate unique identifier of the person. This is where biometric data mining comes into effect: the different databases, even if some of them are anonymous, may be linked together to create comprehensive personal profiles for all the users. To do this, no fresh biometric sample is even required. The linking of the databases can be done offline using template-to-template matching, in a very efficient one-to-many mode. The privacy implications explode at this point.”

 

2008

DHS Human Factors Division:  Social-Behavioral Threat Analysis

Mission:

To apply the social, behavioral and physical sciences to improve identification, analysis, and understanding of the threats posed by individuals, groups, and radical movements; to support community preparedness, response, and recovery to catastrophic events; and to advance national security by integrating the human element into homeland security science & technology. http://www.scribd.com/doc/27037194/Behave-Fast-Tsadhs

MONITORING EVERYDAY BEHAVIOR

In April 2008, the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times both reported on a new Los Angeles Police Department order that compels LAPD officers to begin reporting “suspicious behaviors” in addition to their other duties—creating a stream of “intelligence” about a host of everyday activities that, according to documents, will be fed to the local fusion center.

LAPD Special Order #11, dated March 5, 2008, states that it is the policy of the LAPD to “gather, record, and analyze information of a criminal or non-criminal nature, that could indicate activity or intentions related to either foreign or domestic terrorism,” and includes a list of 65 behaviors LAPD officers “shall” report. The list includes such innocuous, clearly subjective, and First Amendment protected activities as:

– taking measurements

– using binoculars

– taking pictures or video footage “with no apparent esthetic value”

– abandoning vehicle

– drawing diagrams

– taking notes

– espousing extremist views

LAPD’s Program is now the Nationwide SAR Initiative (NSI)

Nationwide SAR Initiative Vision: By 2014, every Federal, State, local, tribal and law enforcement entity operating domestically will participate in a standardized integrated approach to gather, document, process, analyze, and share terrorism-related suspicious activity

28 C.F.R. part 23

28 CRF Part 23 is a US Federal Code that basically says you cannot be entered into a criminal data system unless you are a legitimate suspect.  Not so anymore.

The April 2003 GIWG meeting minutes record approval for the weakening of 28 CFR 23 and note that GIWG member Daniel J. Oates indicated he was excited about the proposed changes to 28 CFR Part 23, specifically the area dealing with changing the reasonable suspicion collection criteria to reasonable indication. If the rule is passed, officers on the street can gather small bits of information that can be entered into an intelligence database. Under the old standard, this could not be done. Read more

28 C.F.R. Part 23 was promulgated pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §3789(g)(c) which requires state and local law enforcement agencies receiving federal funding  to

“…collect, maintain, and disseminate criminal intelligence  information in conformance with policy standards which are  prescribed by the Office of Justice Programs and which are written to  assure that the funding and operation of these systems further the purpose of this chapter and to assure that some systems are not  utilized in violation of the privacy and constitutional rights of individuals.

 

Why did we need 28 CFR 23?dep

The Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs (OJP) in 1993 explained;

“Because criminal intelligence information is both conjectural and subjective in nature, may be widely disseminated through the interagency exchange of information and cannot be accessed by criminal suspects to verify that the information is accurate and complete, the protections and limitations set forth in the regulation are necessary to protect the privacy interests of the subjects and potential suspects of a criminal intelligence system.”

They have decided that now-we are no longer due these legal protections.

It actually took them until 2008 before the desired weakening of federal code was officially achieved

In July  2008, the Department of Justice proposed a rule to amend the primary federal regulation governing criminal intelligence databases (28 CFR Part 23) to expand both what information can be collected by law enforcement agencies, and with whom it may be shared.  (see 73 Fed. Reg. 44673) read more

. . .the Department of Justice has relaxed restrictions on when the Federal Bureau of Investigation can begin investigations, and worked to increase intelligence-sharing among local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies as well as with federal (intelligence) agencies in ways that will compromise civil liberties (through a change in federal regulation 28 C.F.R. part 23).

Read more FBI Guidelines 28 C.F.R. part 23

2008

Comments on proposed amendments to 28 Code of Federal

Regulations Part 23 –

. . .intelligence fusion centers universally claimed  compliance with 28 CFR Part 23 as the appropriate regulation governing the conduct of  their intelligence collection efforts.

The Congressional Research Service reported that “many state and local law enforcement and fusion center staff” expressed concerns regarding sharing law enforcement sensitive information with non-law enforcement personnel including analysts working under contract to the Department of Homeland Security.10

In January 2008 the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) published “functional standards” for suspicious activity reports (SAR) produced by state and local law enforcement.

The DNI standards actually encourage state and local law enforcement to report non-criminal suspicious activities to the intelligence community by defining the scope of suspicious activity as “observed behavior that may be indicative of intelligence gathering or pre-operational planning related to terrorism, criminal, or other illicit intention.”

READ MORE

Oklahoma Information Fusion Center Privacy Policy;

The OIFC may retain information that is based on mere suspicion, such as tips and leads. Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR) information will be retained in the future once the SAR project is finalized and guidelines are issued to Fusion Centers.  http://www.scribd.com/doc/24732421/Oklahoma-Information-Fusion-center-Privacy-Policy

**Please Note-This is NOT a genuine OIFC Notice. If the OIFC files a suspicious activity report on you-You would never know it.

Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative IJIS (Fusion Centers)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/41496999/Nationwide-Suspicious-Activity-Reporting-Initiative-IJIS-Fusion-Centers

NSI

http://www.scribd.com/doc/21970535/Nationwide-SAR-suspicious-activity-reports-Initiative

SAR and Amtrak

http://www.scribd.com/doc/44933611/Nationwide-SAR-Initiative-Partnership-With-Amtrak

Oct. 20, 2008

International Police Organization Proposes Worldwide Facial Recognition System.

An Interpol face-recognition database would permit Interpol member nations to search records containing travelers’ personal biometric information, and could be used in conjunction with travel watch lists.

“There will be such a large role in the future for fingerprints and facial recognition”

— Mark Branchflower, head of Interpol’s fingerprint unit

2009

BIOMETRICS TASK FORCE

http://www.scribd.com/doc/26083198/Army-War-College-Bio-Metrics-Task-Force-April-15-2009

Across All Government Biometric Information Coordination

Collaboration Data Sharing Biometrics Mission Sets Population Census Targeting / Tracking Base & Checkpoint Security Police, Military, & Govt. Official Vetting Border Control / Ports of Entry (POEs) Detainee Operations

2008-2009

Homeland Security Presidential Directive 24, signed in 2008 and revalidated in 2009 by the current administration, mandates that interoperability with respect to biometrics spans the military, civil, and criminal arenas.

http://www.biometrics.dod.mil/Newsletter/issues/2009/Sep/V5issue3.html

FBI delves into DMV photos in search for fugitives

October 12, 2009

RALEIGH, N.C. — In its search for fugitives, the FBI has begun using facial-recognition technology on millions of motorists, comparing driver’s license photos with pictures of convicts in a high-tech analysis of chin widths and nose sizes.

The project in North Carolina has already helped nab at least one suspect. Agents are eager to look for more criminals and possibly to expand the effort nationwide. But privacy advocates worry that the method allows authorities to track people who have done nothing wrong.

http://www.publicintelligence.info/fbi-delves-into-dmv-photos-in-search-for-fugitives/

October 13, 2009

According to the AP’s report, the FBI has assembled a panel of experts tasked with standardizing drivers license photos and push use of biometric-mining nationwide. But the value of mining DMV records with the biometric software is limited for one simple reason, expressed perfectly by Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. “We don’t have good photos of terrorists,” he explains.

 “Most of the facial-recognition systems today are built on state DMV records because that’s where the good photos are”

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/fbi-mining-dmv-photos-for-fugitives

Fusion Centers “fuse” information shared between Military and Civilian forces, Public and Private Institutions, State Federal and International Governments.

September 15, 2009

WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Monday that it was giving state and local fusion centers access to the classified military intelligence in Department of Defense (DOD) databases. The federal government has facilitated the growth of a network of fusion centers since 9/11 to expand information collection and sharing practices among law enforcement agencies, the private sector and the intelligence community.

http://www.aclu.org/national-security_technology-and-liberty/fusion-centers-obtain-access-classified-military-intelligen

2009 Biometric Consortium Conference

Biometric Enabled Intelligence has been a powerful tool in the law enforcement community, linking individuals to events, evidence and ultimately to solved crimes. That same concept can make biometrics a so what enabler of military operations, physical security, logical security, and forensic analysis by linking people, places, activities and events.

As we learn to link biometrics to biographic, geospatial, social networks and other forms of data, we can develop patterns of activities for both individuals and organizations

Mrs. Del Greco initiated two high profile, multi-million dollar  development efforts: “Next Generation Identification” (NGI), which will expand biometric and criminal history capabilities; and “Biometric Interoperability”, which will ensure information sharing between the FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) and other key biometric-based systems within the Federal Government and international partners

http://biometrics.org/bc2009/bios/delgreco_k.pdf

 

 Tag!  You’re It!

“Face recognition already exists through photo IDs, which can be used of individuals that are not enrolled”

http://www.scribd.com/doc/44675297/Sensor-Nets-the-Business-of-Surveillance

2010

Stripping Away Anonymity-The Secretary of Defense Funding Doc

“Biometrics technologies can be used to both verify an individual’s claimed identity and, when combined with additional intelligence and/or forensic information, biometrics technologies can establish an unknown individual’s identity, thus stripping away his anonymity. “

“This program will develop the technology that will improve the quality of biometrics derived information provided to the operational forces for the purpose of identifying and classifying anonymous individuals. It will enable execution of a DoD and interagency coordinated biometrics science and technology plan that supports technology transition to acquisition programs in FY10 and the out-years.”

See the document; www.dtic.mil/descriptivesum/Y2010/OSD/0603665D8Z.pdf

 

2010

Biometrics Identity Management Agency (BIMA)

Warfighter, Business, Intelligence, and Security & Law Enforcement

The Department of the Army General Order (DAGO) 2010-06, signed by the Secretary of the Army (SecArmy), redesignated BTF (biometrics task force) as the Biometrics Identity Management Agency (BIMA) on 23 March 2010.

Sept 1, 2010

Get REAL . . .

But open rebellion against REAL ID, which was so heated two or three years ago, has calmed considerably. States are no longer lining up to add themselves to the list of those refusing to fund of implement the federal law’s requirements.

Instead, many state motor vehicle departments are quietly doing the work to meet the law’s initial 18 benchmarks. According to DHS, all but the 14 holdout states say they’ll be able to meet the law’s operational requirements by the end of this year.

Read more

June 22, 2011

Making REAL ID a Reality: Next Steps for Congress

At least 32 states are close to REAL ID material compliance, while a total of 44 states and territories have indicated that they fully intend to meet REAL ID compliance

State unveils new, secure driver’s license

Starting Monday, Alabama residents will be able to obtain a new, more secure form of identification.In compliance with REAL ID Act of 2005, the Alabama De­partment of Public Safety has developed a driver’s license and identification program called STAR I.D. Congress passed the REAL ID Act in re­sponse to acts of terrorism against the United States.

Connecticut to begin controversial Real ID program

Connecticut launched a campaign today to publicize how to obtain a drivers license that meets the stricter verification standards of a federal “Real ID” law passed in 2005, but never implemented in face of objections from two dozen states

And Many. Many more!

About those Oklahoma Spy Cams..There is more to this than meets the eye.

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, Automatic License Plate Recognition and the Alliance for Toll Interoperability

READ THIS!

About those Oklahoma Spy Cams..

There is more to this than meets the eye.

We will be exposing much more about this story tonight

AxXiom & Maxim for Liberty!

6-8 cst on http://www.ruleoflawradio.com
			

Oklahoma Turnpike Orders New Sticker Tags-Revenue Enhancement, Surveillance Tool for the state

By early August Oklahoma’s turnpikes should all be fully equipped with TransCore’s dual mode E6 readers (Encompass 6) to allow a start on a two to three year transition away from the existing hardcase/battery-equipped Allegro transponders to eGo Plus sticker tags. The reader infrastructure will consist of E6 readers installed in 377 toll lanes (plus 23 spares purchased) on ten turnpikes – 400 readers for $6m, they tell us.

Yesterday the Authority placed their first order for new eGo Plus (ISO 18000 6B) tags – 278k sticker tags @$9.40 apiece and 11k exterior mount tags @ $26ea (mainly for motorbikes). They expect the first deliveries within weeks.

Total cost of the 289k eGo+ tags: $2.92m.

85% done with reader switchover

David Machamer director of toll operations at the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) says that as of this week they’ve switched out about 325 lanes from the old Allegro/ATA dual mode protocol readers to the new E6s which read Allegro and Super eGo protocols (or any two of several other protocols if needed).

Read more

http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/4760

The McCarville Report;

No attention was drawn to the $50 million-in-new-revenue plan until The McCarville Report Online began a series of articles about it last Friday.

No attention in a major way, that is. But months ago, Norman blogger Kaye Beach was asking pointed questions about the plan. She, along with fellow blogger Andrew Griffin, delivered a letter to Governor Henry’s office asking that “sunlight” be allowed to shine on the plan. She never got a response.

McCarville writes;

In retrospect, Henry might today wish he had addressed the subject then because today, the lack of public discussion about the plan figures in the theory by some that Henry and others wanted the plan to “fly under the radar” and they hoped few outside state government would notice it.

Even some in state government didn’t have a clue about the program until TMRO reported on it. Said one House member: “I had never heard of this until I saw your first story.”

Beach’s December 19th letter to Henry, which got no response:

Governor Henry,

I am writing you to express my concern about the proposed automobile license plate scanning cameras to be placed in fixed locations around Oklahoma. This is allegedly a way for the state to automatically verify the insurance status of our vehicles as they pass.

We all agree that the damage caused by uninsured motorists is a big problem, but now, on top of the risk of uncompensated personal loss or damaged property caused by an irresponsible driver we learn that we will also be subjected to unwarranted monitoring by the state of Oklahoma.

My question to you, Gov. Henry, is will you refrain from using the executive powers of the state to decide the matter and allow the people and their representatives an open examination of this issue so that they can properly weigh its merits and cast their votes accordingly?

This is a decision that should not be made without ample sunlight.

I appreciate your consideration.

Sincerely,
Kaye Beach
Norman, Oklahoma

Read More
http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/

Chad will tell us about a new project with Richard Colter, Pres of Motorists Union and narrator of;

“Colter’s Guide to the Police States of America”

Traffic tickets are a taboo subject matter in America, because of the widespread perception that the system is based on fraud and corruption. This is especially true of speeding tickets, which explains why there has never been a documentary film on the subject. Documentary film maker Richard Colter tackles the complex subject of speed limit enforcement in his film trilogy “COLTER’S GUIDE TO THE POLICE STATES OF AMERICA”.

For the first time, Richard takes you step by step through the process of setting and posting a proper speed limit. After you understand how speed limits are properly determined, Richard takes you on a journey to find a properly set speed limit. Along the way, you’ll hear from Government Officials, Traffic Engineers, and Safety Experts, with in-depth legal analysis of the Constitutional issues surrounding speed limit enforcement.

The first film covers the engineering aspects of speed limits, while the second film will cover the judicial/legal aspects, followed by a film covering quantitative issues. With all of the economic, political, and Constitutional issues facing America today, there has never been a better time to bring the truth to American’s, especially on a subject which affects the safety, dignity, and constitutional rights of every American!!

http://www.motoristunion.org/SignIn.aspx

Become a member and download the movie!

Also on MotoristsUnion.org

Federal Petition – Class Action Law Suit

When you become a Motorist Union Member, you are automatically enrolled in the Petition which seeks damages against your Government, and all other involved parties such as insurance companies.

The petition filed in each state will request injunctive relief, to stop the issuing of speeding tickets until your government can show compliance with all Constitutional requirements.

http://www.motoristunion.org/Default.aspx

Driver’s License Image Sharing

Technology Summary: When driver’s license images and information are shared between police jurisdictions, law enforcement officers may have a much better chance of apprehending suspects during routine operations. Several government initiatives have focused on building the technology to share this important information.

View this document on Scribd

NISP: Nlets Interstate Sharing of Photos

Summary
Nlets received initial support from the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security to demonstrate the viability of exchanging interstate driver license photos among law enforcement and safety officials using Nlets. The project involves a pilot with NC, VA, and SC. The results will be used to expand DL photo exchange nationwide. The original grant was supplemented by the NISP II and III grants from NIJ.

In the spring of 2007, Nlets successfully conducted a live demonstration with these three states at an IACP meeting. These states are working with Nlets to move the results of the pilot into production. The project is also addressing policy issues, such as privacy and archiving of photos.

The 2008 goals of the new grants are to increase the number of states exchanging photos to ten: six new states will be added by late summer, with at least four to be added in the first quarter of 2009. In partnership with ARJIS, we will combine funds and expand our purchasing power in order to expand photo exchange capabilities.

http://www.nlets.org/grants.aspx

About NLETS

About Nlets

Nlets is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization

Nlets provides two basic capabilities to its users. First, it is an international, computer-based message switching system that links together state, local, and federal law enforcement and justice agencies for the purpose of information exchange. Second, it provides information services support for a growing number of justice related applications.

http://www.nlets.org/whoWeAre.aspx

Podcast- Automatic License Plate Recognition in Oklahoma

America in the Balance is a weekly Truth in Focus Internet Radio show presented by Oklahomans for Sovereignty and Free Enterprise (OK-SAFE.) and Hosted by Ken Sellers and Amanda Teegarden.

OK-SAFE is a non-profit 501(c)4 Oklahoma Corporation made up of individuals and coalition groups dedicated to the principles of American Free Enterprise and the Constitutional Sovereignty of Oklahoma and the United States of America. Hosted by Ken Sellers and Amanda Teegarten

On this show,  Ken and Amanda also discuss with guest Kaye Beach the effort by DPS to install automatic license plate recognition cameras on OK highways.

Listen online

http://www.truthinfocus.org/radio/america_in_the_balance.html

__________________________________

Recently it was announced that Oklahoma official were going to add 200 license plate scanning cameras, ostensibly to catch uninsured motorists.

Oklahoma to Establish Electronic Insurance Verification System

State officials are looking at beefing up the state’s electronic insurance verification system by setting up cameras across the state to randomly record vehicle tags. Cameras set up at about 200 locations along selected highways would focus in on a tag’s bar code — found at the bottom of each tag — and record it. Bar code scanners would match the tag numbers with a national database containing real-time vehicle insurance information.

http://www.newsok.com/oklahoma-could-keep-an-eye-on-uninsured-motorists/article/3420697

Background

What is ALPR?

Automatic License Plate Recognition is a means of mass surveillance that uses character recognition programming to read the letters and numbers on license plates.

Other Names;

• NPR (Number plate recognition )
• ANPR Automatic Number Plate Recognition
• Automatic vehicle identification (AVI)
• Car plate recognition (CPR)
• License plate recognition (LPR)

ANPR can be used to store the images captured by the cameras as well as the text from the license plate, with some configurable to store a photograph of the driver

The device itself has little value unless it is linked to a database (or many databases).

The software or programming that tells the device what to do with the data it has captured (your license plate identification number) it will be handled in one of two ways.  The tag number will be compared on the spot, in real time against a predetermined set of information such as the insurance policy database or possibly against known stolen vehicle tag numbers.  If the search produces a match then likely you will be stopped or mailed a ticket.

The second way the captured information could be handled is by sending it to a remote location and stored for future use.

Why ALPR?

“ALPR is effectively the foundation of all electronic free-flow charging, because it is the only common point of reference for all vehicles passing through a toll checkpoint or zone boundary.”

From Technologies that enable congestion pricing A Federal Highway Administration document

Typical ALPR Enabling Technologies
There are, not surprisingly, many technologies that could support different functions in a VMT fee system.

ANPR (Automated Number Plate Recognition). Combining digital cameras with optical character recognition software, this technology makes it possible to identify vehicles that pass a particular location based on their license plate numbers.

READ MORE

https://axiomamuse.wordpress.com/2009/12/12/transportation-surveillance-getting-the-bad-guys-and-you-too/

_______________________

In 2008 -HB 3115-the Compulsory Insurance Verification Bill was passed allowing law enforcement to instantly verify insurance coverage from the field.

Tulsa Talks (blogsite) reports on March 29, 2006

Law enforcement officials may soon be able to immediately verify if drivers have insurance coverage thanks to legislation unanimously approved by the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
House Bill 3115, by state Rep. Ron Peterson (R-Broken Arrow), would create an online insurance verification pilot program in Oklahoma. The program would allow police to verify insurance coverage from the field.

House Bill 3115 passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives on a 99-0 vote

http://www.tulsatalks.com/2006/03/oklahoma-house-begins-work-on-senate.html

HB 3115 was ultimately signed into law in 2008.  Implementation date was originally scheduled for July 1, 2008 then moved to Dec 31st 2008.

____________________-

2008 SB 2122 amends HB 3115

A noteworthy portion of the amendment-

Paragraph 11: Makes all information exchanged or generated in relation to the verification system not subject to the Open Records Act, that is, confidential.

The Oklahoma Public Records Act says that;

“The purpose of this act is to ensure and facilitate the public’s right of access to and review of government records so they may efficiently and intelligently exercise their inherent political power.”

_______________________________________________________

Why ALPR?  Why Now?

The next couple of article tells us one reason-Toll Interoperability.

NEWS ARTCLE–Florida, E-ZPass exchanging toll camera data to test license plate based tolls
Fri, 2009-08-07

Several toll agencies in Florida and the E-ZPass have begun exchange of camera based data to test the feasibility of levying tolls on one another’s license plates in a pilot program.

In most states when the transponder readers don’t recognize a local transponder, or any transponder, a camera is triggered that takes pictures of the rear and sometimes also the front of the vehicle. Each state or tolling area (E-ZPass IAG, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, South Carolina, Kansas etc) will generate a toll bill or violation notice based on their ability to access ‘foreign’ state motor registry databases.

The pilot program to exchange camera based data between toll areas is being conducted under the auspices of the Alliance for Toll Interoperability (ATI) and the I-95 Coalition.

read more

http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/4297

____________________________________

NEWS ARTICLE

Alliance for Toll Interoperability formed in south – video data standard priority

Fri, 2008-02-15

Representatives of nearly twenty toll agencies met in Dallas TX February 7 and decided to form an Alliance for Toll Interoperability (ATI).

. . .With the strong move towards cashless tolling camera reads of license plates – ‘video tolling’ – becomes the mode for collecting the tolls of those motorists without a transponder account.

Attending the formative Dallas meeting were senior operations people from toll authorities in the Carolinas, Florida, Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Kansas. 15 to 20 toll operators were informally represented.

. . . Video data exchange format priority

ATI people are also interested in how they can improve the readabillity of license plates. Eden says some of the members have been talking with 3M, the big Minneapolis based company that supplies much of the surfacing film used on license plates.

http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/3399

Information on the Alliance for Toll Interoperability taken from their own documents available at their website;

https://www.tollinterop.org/Common/Downloads.aspx

WHAT IS ATI

Current Organization:

– Members:

• More than 40 participating toll agencies representing 24 states & 3 countries

ATI’S GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

• Extend tolling interoperability beyond today’s boundaries

• Develop specification for license plate violation and video tolling data exchange, get DMV’s and other key stakeholders involved

• Determine state legislation of ETC/DMV and sharing information

• Investigate RFID toll interoperability

• Consider future technology including 5.9 GHz DSRC(WiMax), GPS/Cellular, and other

ATI Today

Phase 1 & Phase 2

• Future vehicle ID technology in all vehicles:

•– 5.9 GHz RFID in various devices, or

•– Satellite / GPS Tolling.

• TODAY, vehicles have a common, if imperfect, identification technology –the license plate.

Why ALPR?  ATI says;

“License Plate Tolling is the “bridge” interoperability technology”

Mission: Improve ability of toll agencies to identify vehicles traveling on toll facilities

– Allow customers the seamless use of toll facilities across state lines

– Maximize state toll revenues and reduce toll collection and operations costs to States and agencies

– Guide the toll industry towards technical interoperability utilizing future technology opportunities

Facilitating talks with multi‐State organizations to secure access to motor vehicle records

– Will allow toll agencies and states to identify vehicles without the use of transponders through Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR)

– American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators fully engaged

– Will allow enforcement across state lines, not just for tolling

_____________________

_______________________________________________

August 4, 2009

Agenda & Meeting Details

•Oklahoma/Texas Pilot Program:

•Committee Members: Rick Herrington (lead)

•David Machamer (lead)

•Clayton Howe

Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) is waiting for action from NTTA on responding to the Oklahoma Tax Commission. Mr. David Machamer suggested completing a ‘file swap’ rather than going through the Tax Commission.

Alliance for Toll Interoperability-Trustee, David Machamer* Oklahoma Transportation Authority.

Texas/Oklahoma Pilot

Project Contacts: David Machamer*, Rick Herrington* Clayton Howe

Project Overview:

Establish interoperability between NTTA (North Texas Tollway Authority) and OTA utilizing license plate data exchange. Discussions are ongoing between NTTA and OTA to establish protocol for exchanging plate and driver information.

Time frame: Expected to be complete by 1st Quarter 2010.

The economic crisis has worked its magic.  People are driving less.  That’s good and green right?

It’s not very green where it really counts.

Money.

VMT-vehicle mileage tax

Implementable Strategies for Shifting to Direct Usage-Based Charges for Transportation Funding

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Web-Only Document 143: Implementable Strategies for Shifting to Direct Usage-Based Charges for Transportation Funding explores ways that direct charges to road users, based on vehicle-miles of travel (VMT), could be implemented within approximately the next 5 years.

Enabling Technologies
There are, not surprisingly, many technologies that could support different functions in a VMT fee system.
ANPR (Automated Number Plate Recognition). Combining digital cameras with optical character recognition software, this technology makes it possible to identify vehicles that pass a particular location based on their license plate numbers.

https://axiomamuse.wordpress.com/2009/12/12/transportation-surveillance-getting-the-bad-guys-and-you-too/

______________________________________________________________________________

Meeting of 2009-9-8 Regular Meeting
LAWTON CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING
SEPTEMBER 8, 2009 –  6:00 P.M.
WAYNE GILLEY CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBER

1.    Consider approving the submittal of an application to the Oklahoma Association of Chiefs of Police for a grant to fund the purchase of a Federal Signal Automated License Plate Recognition system (A.L.P.R.).

. . .Deputy Chief James Apple, Lawton Police Department, stated they were contacted by the Oklahoma Chief’ s Association last Thursday and they are receiving a federal grant for an automated license plate recognition system and Lawton is one of the selected agencies in the state to participate in this program.  He stated this is a camera system which is mounted on the police units that will automatically read the license plate as the car travels down the roadway.

This system will read up to 160 mph.  The other agencies selected are Claremore Police, Woodward Police, Broken Arrow Police, Midwest City Police and Stillwater Police.  This also includes Comanche Nation, Chickasaw Nation and Choctaw Nation tribal agencies.  He stated there will be no cost to the City of Lawton including the training to run the system.

. . .Apple stated we would receive three systems.  He stated these systems would cost thousands of dollars and there is no way we could afford it.

. . .Apple stated this will be tied in to the Oklahoma Association of Chiefs system and they will cover everything.

MOVED by Haywood, SECOND by Zarle, to approve the submittal of an application to the Oklahoma Association of Chiefs of Police for a grant to fund the purchase of a Federal Signal Automated License Plate Recognition system (A.L.P.R.).  AYE: Burk, Shanklin, Zarle, Haywood, Wells, Shoemate, Hanna, Drewry. NAY: None.  MOTION CARRIED

see minutes here;

http://www.cityof.lawton.ok.us/CityCode/City_Council_Meeting_Minutes/Year_2009/9/8.html

——————————————————————————————

‘One of the major benefits of ALPR is the collection of data that allows for investigative purposes; this benefit is being seen with equal or even greater interest than the identification of known vehicles of interest.’

Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) is likely the most talked about technology today in law enforcement, public safety, and the transportation sectors. Endorsed by the IACP as an “effective tool for law enforcement” in a resolution at the 2007 IACP Annual Conference, the technology has proven itself time and again as a force multiplier that can bring about incredible results for agencies at every level

White Paper-Automated License Plate Recognition Investment Justification and Purchasing Guide

Federal Signal Corporation Published: August 2008

Federal Signal (and the International Association of Chiefs of Police) are talking about the New Paradigm of Policing-Intelligence Led Policing and Fusion Centers.

But those are subjects for another day.

Our Governor apparently plans to implement this system by executive order-today Dec 23, 2009.  This technology carries huge implications with it that reach far beyond our wallets.

My question is “why an executive order?”

Oklahoma Watchdog, Andrew Griffin, Reports;

Norman activist inquires whether Gov. Henry will use executive order to implement license-plate scanners

Posted By Andrew Griffin On December 16, 2009 

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Watchdog accompanied Norman activist and blogger Kaye Beach to Gov. Brad Henry’s office on Tuesday afternoon. It was there that Beach handed Henry’s receptionist her letter ^[1] inquiring whether or not Henry would sign an executive order to approve the implementation of license-plate scanners.

Paul Sund, Henry’s press secretary, was not available Tuesday afternoon and as of Wednesday Beach had not heard from the governor’s office. Still, her pursuit for answers has garnered some attention. She was interviewed by KTOK’s Jerry Bohnen on Wednesday and was able to get her questions aired.

“I haven’t heard anything from (Gov. Henry’s office) but then my biggest goal was to get the media on it,” Beach said. “There is some concern that the governor will sign an executive order on the 23rd of December.”

People are objecting to the scanners, as evidenced in this recent Muskogee Phoenix editorial ^[2]. And Sen. Randy Brogdon, who is also running for governor, reportedly inquired this week about the placement of bar codes on the new license plates that have been issued to Oklahoma motorists this year.

Beach, who is also a co-host on “Radio Free Oklahoma,” which airs Wednesdays from 8-10 p.m. on RuleOfLawRadio.com, will be discussing the issue at great length this evening. She also discusses a lot of these issues at her blog, Axxiom for Liberty ^[3].

Oklahoma Watchdog is following this story and hopes to have a full story by the end of the week. Stay tuned.

Andrew made some inquiries of his own as well;

State officials not responding to license-plate scanner inquiry

Posted By Andrew Griffin On December 18, 2009 @ 3:57 pm In Blog | No Comments

OKLAHOMA CITY — Still no word on whether Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry will be signing an executive order next week to implement license-plate scanning technology on Oklahoma roads.

As we reported earlier this week, Norman-based activist and blogger Kaye Beach hand-delivered a letter to the office of Gov. Henry at the State Capitol inquiring whether or not the rumor that Henry’s planned executive order was to take place on Dec. 23. Here is her account ^[1] at her informative blog Axxiom for Liberty. She also discussed it in depth on “Radio Free Oklahoma,” an Oklahoma City-based radio program she co-hosts with Chris Emery, James Lane and Holland Van den Nieuwenhof.  The show is heard every Wednesday from 8-10 p.m. on RuleOfLawRadio.com.

Beach and several other sources have reportedly heard this date bandied about and Oklahoma Watchdog has been making calls and sending emails seeking more information.

Phil Bachrach, the governor’s spokesman, has not returned calls or an email message from Oklahoma Watchdog that was sent to him requesting more information. Calls have also been placed to the office of Rep. Ken Miller (R-Edmond). Miller was on the 2008 “Oklahoma License Plate Design Task Force” and has allegedly been vocal about this support of this technology, although several attempts to confirm this via phone were unsuccessful.

Additionally, Sen. Randy Brogdon has reportedly been inquiring into the issue, asking questions about the small bar codes on the new, standard-issue, flat, digital Oklahoma license plates that have been issued during 2009, replacing the 16-year old green and white design.

It is unclear if the difficulty in reaching anyone is connected to the upcoming holiday break.

These stories are being cross-posted at Oklahoma Watchdog’s sister site RedDirtReport.com.

Read more at Oklahoma Capitol Investments ^[2].

I don’t think we will be getting any answers to these questions from the Governor or his staff anytime soon.

130 Million Identities Stolen; Biometrics Next

30 Million Identities Stolen; Biometrics Next

Monday, 17 August 2009
Steve Meyer  

http://www.stoprealidcoalition.com

(17 AUG 2009)  According to the Department of Justice, the personal credit and debit card information of 130 million were stolen.  They are dubbing this “the single largest hacking and identity theft case ever prosecuted”, according to Fox News (Fox News Article here).

According to the latest U.S. Census, there are 128 million households in the United States.  Doesn’t this theft have a great likelihood of negatively impacting at least one person in every household?

If we were only dealing with the issue of privacy, that’s one thing.  However, we have been educating folks that the ability to restore what has been lost here would be to issue a new Social Security number and credit/debit cards.  Imagine tomorrow, when your biometric information is attached; there simply is no painless way to reissue your facial biometrics, DNA, and fingerprints.

The problem is that the White House, through the facilitators of the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is attempting to enroll each of us into the world’s largest global biometric database.  This would allow identification and review of each of us in real-time.  It would incur the added cost of placing these biometrics into a database system which ties to the same type of information, and more, that was just stolen from 130 million of us!

Currently the White House is soliciting the names of people opposing the healthcare reform legislation.  Many are concerned about speaking out about this issue for fear of being put on a watch-dog “hit” list.  Control and Stalin tactics are already being deployed nationwide.  Once this biometric identification system is fully implemented, we will have no recourse to have our stolen personal information remedied due to the complications of biometrics.  Even today as it is being built, imagine the end result of losing this private information on even one person let alone 130 million.

This goes well beyond a Tenth Amendment issue and directly to deceit, power, and control.

International and multi-national organizations are influencing the policy, laws, and implementation of the laws in the United States.  This directly attacks the sovereignty of the United States, States Rights, and the rights of Citizens.

We see this in Real ID and PASS ID with the participation of AAMVA and ICAO (an agency of the United Nations), two international organizations involved in forming this into reality.

We must get Mark Lerner to Washington D.C. immediately to address this breaking news event.  We need the cash to get him there and keep him there for at least one week.  Your urgent response could very well turn this insanity around swiftly.

You can read the full Fox News theft article here.

**************************************************

********************************************
Please Go to;

http://www.stoprealidcoalition.com/

and read up on the federal government’s continuing efforts to implement a global identification and surveillance system (now the Pass Act!) While you are there, please donate whatever you can to help out-every little bit helps us to get Mark Lerner, The Constitutional Alliance’s tireless communicator to where he is needed most. Right now-DC!

Contact me if I can help with your in any way with your efforts to stop Real ID, Pass ID or any other incarnations of a global ID.
ladyaxiom@yahoo.com

AxXiom

Drive time for facial Recognition

Biometric technology catches on with DMVs, but prirecognitionDrive Time for Facial vacy concerns slow broader reach

• By Alice Lipowicz
• Mar 06, 2008

After a driver sits for a photo at the Illinois
Secretary of State office to renew a license,
officials use facial-recognition technology to
give the resulting image a close look.

First, state officials verify that the face
matches the images portrayed on previous
licenses issued under the driver’s
name. The second, more
extensive run-through determines
if the same face appears on other
Illinois driver’s licenses with different names.

Since starting the program in 1999, the
state has uncovered more than 5,000 cases of
multiple identity fraud, said Beth Langen, policy
and program division administrator at the
Illinois Secretary of State office. The state pays
Digimarc Corp. about 25 cents per license for
the service, she said.

“We are very pleased. It is a fraud for which
we have no other tool” to combat, Langen said.

About 40 percent of the nation’s drivers are
set to undergo such facial-recognition database
checks when they renew their licenses in
20 states. It is just one sign that after years of
ups and downs, facial-recognition technology
in government agencies is gaining momentum
on several fronts.

Facial-image-matching applications have
been available for more than a decade but are
just beginning to attain widespread use in government.
Using captured facial images that are
adjusted for lighting, the technology extracts
data from the image ? such as the length of a
nose or a jaw line ? and uses an algorithm to
compare the data from one image to other
images.

Facial recognition got a black eye when tested
at the Super Bowl in Tampa, Fla., in 2001.
Surveillance images of faces from the crowd
generated so many false positives that the test
was deemed a failure. Experts concede there
still are high error rates if facial recognition is
applied to images taken under less-than-ideal
conditions. That type of application also spurs
the greatest concern about privacy and civil
rights violations.

However, facial recognition is now considered
reliable in environments in which the
lighting, facial expression, angle of the head
and distance of the subject from the camera
can be controlled, and interference from hats,
sunglasses and such can be minimized. The
most recent test results announced in March
2007 by the National Institute of Standards
and Technology showed error rates of 1 percent
or less, a huge improvement compared
with previous tests.

Spending for 2008 on contracts related to facial recognition is estimated at $400 million, said Peter Cheesman, a spokesman at International Biometric Group, a consulting firm in New York. That includes $254 million for civilian agencies, $68 million for law enforcement and about
$75 million for surveillance and access control, he said.

State driver’s license bureaus are in the forefront. The 20 or so
state motor vehicle departments that have facial-recognition systems
or are in the process of implementing them typically perform
one-to-one and one-to-many matches within their states.

Growth in such applications is continuing, spurred by concerns about identity theft and fraud. Along with Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Washington and many others, Oregon is the latest state to install facial recognition.

“Doing facial matching in state motor vehicle departments is acceptable, logical and inexpensive. More states will move toward it,” said Raj Nanavati, partner at International Biometric Group, a consulting firm in New York.

PRIVACY CONCERNS LINGER

However, criticism is emerging, too, especially
in states in which the drivers’ photos are being
shared or may be shared with other states and
with law enforcement agencies.

Police departments, eager for more investigative
tools, are pressing for access to the
millions of photographs in the motor vehicle
databases. A few states prohibit such sharing,
but many allow it. In Massachusetts, there
have been media reports of the Registry of
Vehicles’ database of faces being used as a
crime-fighting tool. In Pinellas County, Fla.,
police officers use facial-recognition tools on
booking photographs. In Illinois, driver’s
license photos are shared with the state police
and on request with local law enforcement
agencies, Langen said.

Such mission creep poses a danger to privacy
and could lead to intrusive surveillance and
tracking, said Jay Stanley, a spokesman for the
American Civil Liberties Union.

Nonetheless, use of facial-recognition
technology for law enforcement
is an expanding area. An executive
at Digimarc, which currently
supplies facial-recognition technologies
to about 13 state motor vehicle
departments, said the capability is
shared with law enforcement in six
states, and there is growing demand
for it.

People use the technology to identify
the homeless, deceased,
Alzheimer’s patients and criminals,
said Kevin O’Leary, senior product
line manager for biometrics at
Digimarc. “We are also seeing interest
in using it in intelligence fusion
centers,” he said. “There is a growing understanding
of the connection between false identifications
and support for criminal activity.”

In addition to fraud control, the Real ID Act
is driving some opportunities, although it does
not explicitly require use of facial recognition
or sharing of photos, industry experts said. The
next frontier may be sharing photographs and
facial-recognition capabilities between states
to discover individuals who have multiple identities
in several states.

The American Association of Motor Vehicles
sponsors the Digital Image Exchange program,
a secure network that lets several states share
driver’s license photos. It is primarily used for
one-to-one matching, in which a state sends a
photo and name of an applicant to the state of
the applicant’s former residence, asking to verify
that the previous photos match the current
images. The system does not do one-to-many
searches to look for multiple aliases for the
same photo in other states, association
spokesman Jason King said.

Out-of-state sharing may become more
popular eventually if the privacy issues can
be addressed, Nanavati said. “It has strong
security benefits, but that is when you run into
greater privacy and legality concerns,” he said.

Several other projects and developments are
driving growth in facial recognition.

• The State Department uses it for its database
  of foreign visa applicants’ facial
  images, which it has been building since
  2004 under a contract with L-1 Identity
  Solutions Inc. The system was developed at
  State to reduce visa-related identity fraud.
• The FBI’s $1 billion Next Generation
  Identification system is being built to add
  face and palm print biometrics databases
  to the crime-fighting arsenal. It also will
  make it easier to share data from the existing
  fingerprint system. The FBI chose
  Lockheed Martin Corp. Feb. 12 as the
  prime contractor.
• The Homeland Security Department’s U.S.
  Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator
  Technology program is experimenting with
  multimodal biometrics, including facial
  recognition, said Director Robert Mocny.
  US-VISIT collects fingerprints from visa
  applicants and shares that information with
  other agencies.
• New technologies for 3-D facial recognition
  and new algorithms for greater accuracy
  are being developed.

For now, expect to see more motor vehicle
offices adopting the technology, industry
experts said. More sharing with law enforcement
and with other states might come later if
privacy can be protected.

“Facial recognition is getting to a point where
it really has a high degree of potential acceptance.
But it is not yet capable in covert and facein-
the-crowd applications,” said Walter
Hamilton, chairman of the International
Biometric Industry Association.

“In my view, facial recognition at state motor
vehicle departments is one of the most logical
applications. It works the best,” said Jeremy
Grant, senior vice president at Stanford Group
Co. investment research firm.

Alice Lipowicz (alipowicz@1105govinfo.com) is a
staff writer at Washington Technology.

Alice lopowicz http://washingtontechnology.com/Articles/2008/03/06/Drive-time-for-facial-recognition.aspx?sc_lang=en&Page=1&p=1

InsureNet, OCIVS (online insurance verification) related doc.’s

HB3326_HFLR2122ocivsAmendments

Electronic Vehicle Registration Mediawebserver[1]

Model Law Elements for an Automated Vehicle Insurance Identification and Enforcement System Below are model law elements regarding the use of ALPR, (Automatic License Plate Recognition) Systems in support of identification and enforcement efforts involving uninsured vehicles. We caution that numerous changes may be necessary to the text in order to accommodate the particular circumstances and decisions of any State or other jurisdiction

insnet

insnet2005NAICwhite paper

You Are Where You (have been -location tracking)

AAMVAassociates

anpr_strat_2005-08_march05_12x04x05

RFI

NPB_Fusion_Centers  (pg 25)

2008 AAMVA to build REAL ID verification hub

 

AAMVA to build REAL ID verification hub

By Michael Hampton

http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2008/06/22/aamva-to-build-real-id-verification-hub/
Posted: June 22, 2008 2:27 pm

The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators received a no-bid contract worth millions of dollars to implement a “verification hub” connecting state and federal databases under the REAL ID program.

AAMVA, which already maintains a database of commercial drivers in every state, was believed to be the company that would get the contract for the verification hub which, when completed, will allow states to electronically verify documents such as birth certificates and Social Security cards with other states and with the federal government.

The database begins with a $17 million REAL ID Demonstration Grant awarded to the state of Missouri, which will then pass on that cash to AAMVA to do the actual work of developing the system. Four other states, Florida, Indiana, Nevada, and Wisconsin, received $1.2 million grants to be the first states to connect to the new database.

The grants were a portion of nearly $80 million in grants awarded to 48 states and territories to implement various parts of REAL ID in those states. Every state and territory which applied for funding received at least $300,000, according to DHS. Only Alaska, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Washington state did not apply for funding. Many of those states are not participating in REAL ID.

That $80 million is a drop in the bucket compared to the estimated $11 billion price tag for REAL ID. It’s like getting two cents when you need $30.

AAMVA calculates the final costs of building out the database would reach as high as $130 million. AAMVA maintains its driver’s license database through a contract with EDS Corp. of Plano, Texas.

Meanwhile, EDS currently charges AMMVA a maintenance fee for maintaining its commercial driver records. That charge, according to sources, is $0.08334 per month for each record. Under REAL ID, then, EDS could become responsible for maintaining up to 240 million driver records across the United States, potentially netting EDS as much as $240 million per year merely for maintaining commercial driver records. – Homeland Security Today

Homeland Stupidity was the first to note that AAMVA would likely get the contract for the central database which linked the states together under REAL ID.

DHS has said the central verification hub will not diminish privacy or put people at risk. And I have a million bushels of Iowa corn to sell you.

“Personally identifiable information, beyond the minimum information necessary to appropriately route verification queries, will not be stored,” reads a statement on the DHS web site regarding the verification hub. Sounds good, right? Take a second look. It’s a carefully worded statement. That “minimum information necessary” just happens to include, well, all your most important identity information: your name, birthdate, Social Security number, driver license number, address, and perhaps a few other things I can’t think of offhand. That’s more than enough to keep a corrupt employee or a hacker in stolen identities forever.

“Americans overwhelmingly want secure identification, and this funding will help those states working to provide it,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. “We’ve made it more affordable for states to implement REAL ID by dramatically cutting costs and providing various and considerable funding options, and we’re requesting additional funding next year.”

If Americans overwhelmingly wanted REAL ID, why didn’t Congress just bring it up for a vote on its own merits, instead of sneaking it in the back door attached to an Iraq war funding bill?

It seems to me that Americans overwhelmingly want to be safe. But what threats do Americans really face? Terrorism doesn’t even belong on the radar; it’s too rare an occurrence. Accidents and crime certainly do belong on the radar. But the biggest threat to any given American’s security is his own government. These are the people who can harm or kill you and get away with it.

When you consider privacy (and by the way, privacy is a form of security; by giving it up you make yourself more vulnerable) you must consider that the government, the only institution which can get away with unjustly hurting or killing you – and which routinely does so – has all your information, and they can change the “rules” at any time.

This is just one more way in which the government is putting you in danger